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The mayors of Kelowna and West Kelowna met with the province's finance minister Thursday to discuss the speculation tax that was imposed on both communities about a year ago, but Kelowna Mayor Colin Basran says he's not feeling optimistic much will change.
Finance Minister Carole James held the meeting with the mayors of almost all the municipalities affected by the tax, which taxes homes that are left vacant for more than six months of the year. The meeting is the first of several annual ones the government plans to hold.
“The majority of the municipalities that have had this tax imposed were in attendance, and the majority of them, Kelowna and West Kelowna included, believe that it's having a detrimental impact,” Basran said Friday.
“I'm not optimistic that any major changes will take place, certainly we didn't get the sense that the tax will be removed.”
The mayors left James with a series of questions they hope to hear back on before the end of the year:
- Will municipalities be allowed to opt in and opt out of the tax?
- What criteria has been used to determine which municipalities are impacted by the tax?
- What criteria, it any, will be used to determine when the tax will be removed from a community?
- What will be done with the revenue generated by the tax?
In its first year, the speculation tax generated $2 million in revenue in Kelowna alone, which the province says will be funnelled back into the city through funding for housing.
“How and when? It's great to say it, but what does it actually mean in terms of how we will receive that funding for housing?” Basran said.
He pointed to a Canadian Home Builders’ Association report that found there has been a 22 per cent reduction in residential construction jobs in Kelowna since the tax was introduced. Additionally, he says the tax has “damaged the Okanagan brand.”
“I've heard personally from a number of people from around the country who said 'we feel like we're not welcome in British Columbia and the Okanagan as a result of this. We're not coming, we'll go somewhere else,'” Basran said.
